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Olivia Colman Sponge Story (1).png

Hey, Have You Heard The One About Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, A Sex Scene, And A Wet Sponge?

By Tori Preston | TV | January 4, 2019 |

By Tori Preston | TV | January 4, 2019 |


Olivia Colman Sponge Story (1).png

Every year, the greatest gift I give myself over the holidays is to mostly disconnect from the internet. Not from pop culture, necessarily — I’ll usually spend the hazy period between Christmas and New Years catching up on movies and TV shows I missed (and not just watching that Mac And Me episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, like, 3 times in a row or anything, OK?!). But during that time I usually lose track of what’s happening in the world, and especially what’s been airing. Then, when I emerge from my holiday hangover, blinking into the pale sun of a new year, it’s with a discoverer’s mindset. I’m prepared to stumble across funny internet videos that y’all have been laughing into your eggnog about for the past two weeks, and I refuse to feel any shame for being late to the party. Especially if I can’t tell which side of the pond the party took place on.

All of which is a longwinded way of saying I’m about to share some clips from The Graham Norton Show, and they’re great, but don’t hold it against me if you’ve already seen them because I DON’T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE. Near as I can tell, these clips are from episodes that definitely aired in the UK, but maybe haven’t aired on BBC America over here yet? For example, I think this clip of Olivia Colman discussing how she tackled her sex scene with Emma Stone in The Favourite is from an episode that will air on BBC America tonight. But even if I’m wrong about that… well, who cares? It’s Olivia Colman talking about tucking a wet sponge in her crotch for Emma Stone to finger. It’s a world unto itself.


And from the same episode, Nicholas Hoult faces some painful truths about his pre-About A Boy performances…


Then, in an episode that I think will be airing next Friday, Lin-Manuel Miranda proves he’s still got it. And by “it” I mean “his entire ‘My Shot’ rap from Hamilton memorized.” And no matter how many times I’ve listened to that soundtrack, it never gets old!



In the same episode, Ben Whishaw confronts one of his own first performances, in a microwave curry commercial, where the hackneyed breast joke is the least distasteful thing on screen. Which seems impossible, until you hear what they used to generate fake steam for the shot…



The moral of this story? That I’m willing to use any excuse to post adorable clips of Olivia Colman and Lin-Manuel Miranda for our (but mostly my own) enjoyment, especially on a Friday at the end of a sleepy holiday week. And also that some episode of The Graham Norton Show will be airing on BBC America at 11pm EST on Fridays. Just don’t ask me which one, because none of the channel guides seem to agree on that fact.



Header Image Source: BBC